Travelling is always a pleasure.
But it would be even better if we could avoid delays, pay less for plane tickets and avoid all the usual little hassles.
With these 10 tips for smart air travel, you'll want to travel even more often.
Often we hesitate to book a ticket right away. We hope, while waiting a few days, that prices will drop. Our advice is to book right away because if the prices are unlikely to drop, they are very likely to increase. And this for 2 reasons:
1. The closer to the date of departure, the higher the prices in general.
2. Have you ever noticed that when you choose a plane ticket, you are offered a price? If you wait 10 minutes and do it again for some reason, the price has gone up !
Company sites (Air France, EasyJet) as well as travel search engines raise the price automatically . I have already lost 30 € for 10 minutes of hesitation. Don't make the same mistake!
Since it is possible to book your seat online during check-in, a clever trick to be comfortable even in economy class is to book the seat on the window side and the one on the aisle, if you are traveling as a couple.
The middle seat remains free but it is very unlikely that someone will choose it then.
For it to work, you have to be among the first to book the seat when registration opens. Don't wait to register.
If the plane is full and a passenger comes to sit in the middle, they will be happy to swap their middle seat with you for an aisle or window seat.
The morning flight is the one with the least delay . Delays accumulate during the same day, so it is better to get up at dawn to arrive earlier on vacation!
The cheapest rates are recorded on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, the day of lowest attendance. If possible, travel on these days instead.
In addition to the lower cost of tickets, the low crowds will allow you to queue less at the airport and travel in less crowded planes . It's more relaxing...
A trick we have already told you about for cheap travel is to buy your plane tickets on Tuesdays.
Why?
It is on Tuesday that the aviation companies put online their new plane tickets .
It is therefore on Tuesday that the best prices are to be seized...
Read our tip to learn more.
You want to travel like a local, avoid the beaten path full of tourist traps and take advantage of vouchers that only city dwellers have access to .
To do this, consult the sites of deals and take advantage of deals intended for locals in the city in which you go.
To go out, avoid the tourist guides and consult the blogs kept by the inhabitants of the city in question. Nice surprises and guaranteed authenticity.
How to do it?
It's not that simple but with my trick you should achieve it. Only one constraint:to have notions of the language of the country in which you go. I'll show you for New York.
You type "Local Deals New York" in Google and you get deals offered by Travelzoo, Groupon and CBS (an American media group) in the first 3 search results.
At Travelzoo (and at Groupon) I find a dinner in an Italian restaurant listed in the Zagat guide at $59 instead of $147, or 60% off. I see that this offer has been purchased by 21 Internet users already. It's not bad but not impressive.
On the other hand, further down, I find a brunch for 2 at $29 instead of $67 in the super district of Hell's Kitchen. And there, I see that 203 people have bought it, the deal must be really nice...
Christmas Day is traditionally the cheapest day for tickets because no one wants to travel on that day . The same is true for the rest of the holidays where the tickets are much cheaper.
If you don't mind missing Christmas preparations or looking for Easter eggs when you get off the plane, your travel budget will be greatly reduced.
When we choose a destination for a weekend or for a vacation, we often choose in relation to the price of the ticket, the hotel, but we forget to include certain costs that have an impact on the budget.
• The extra baggage allowance can be very expensive if you travel on certain companies, especially the "so-called" low-cost ones.
• The transfer costs from the airport vary greatly from one destination to another.
• The cost of living there is also very variable from one destination to another, between restaurants and the cost of transport.
You remember the snowfalls that blocked Roissy CDG, Orly and many airports in northern Europe like Heathrow in London. C
those who had a stopover at Heathrow at that time must have regretted not having chosen a stopover in Madrid.
A simple trick to avoid delays, when you take a flight with a stopover, is to try if possible to go through a city where the weather is generally good .
Many delays are related to weather issues. If you have the choice between several stopovers, put the odds in your favor and choose the one with the best weather.
A cool tip for cheap travel is to choose your destination based on price, not the destination itself.
If you want to go but don't know where yet, on the companies' websites you can now choose tickets according to price :a good way to be sure to control your travel budget.
On Easyjet, you have access to it on this page only in English with prices in £. Let's hope they offer the page to French speakers...
On AirFrance, click on the best offers page.
What do you think of these 10 commandments for smart travel? What are your tips for traveling cheaper? Share your tips with us in the comments.
